What Is Cronic Wasting Disease

What is Cronic Wasting Disease

CWD is an untreatable, fatal neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in deer and elk in some geographic locations in North America. The disease belongs to a family of diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases. The disease attacks the brain and neural tissue of infected deer and elk. While CWD is similar to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "mad cow disease") in cattle and scrapie in sheep and goats, there is no known relationship between CWD and any other TSE of animals or people.